Mail box fixture



June 7, 1966 H. KURSH 3,254,437

MAIL BOX FIXTURE Filed Sept. 16. 1964 QBM INVENTOR Herman Kursh BY 2. 2 W

ATTORNEY United States Patent Office 3,254,437 Patented June 7, 1966 3,254,437 MAIL BOX FIXTURE Herman Kursh, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, assignor to Kursh Products, Inc., a corporation of Ohio Filed Sept. 16, 1964, Ser. No. 396,975 4 Claims. (Cl. 40-140) My invention relates to a fixture that may be applied to a mail box without welding or without punching or drilling holes in the box. It also relates to the combination of a fixture having vertically and longitudinally extending portions and a mail box having-a rim around its rear end portion to which the vertically extending portion of the fixture is secured and in which the horizontal portion of the fixture is supported by the vertical portion at such height above the mail box that a name plate, or a name plate and a number plate, may be suspended therefrom above and in alignment with the axis of the mail box.

At the present time, it is the practice to provide means for supporting the name of the proprietor of a mail box or his name and house number above the box. Such fixtures are usually provided separately from the box and are installed by the proprietor upon the box. ficult, however, for some people to apply the fixture to the box and this is particularly true if it is necessary to weld the fixture to the box or to punch or drill holes in the fixture Or in the box.

In accordance with the present invention, I have provided a fixture that may be easily applied to a mail box even by people who have less than the normal amount of mechanical ability and when applied serves to suspend a name plate or a name plate and a number plate above the box, and while I do not desire to be limited to the particular structure of the name and number plates, as shown, the name plate consists of a pair of oppositely disposed metal guides into each of which rectangularlyshaped metal strips, each bearing a letter or a blank, may be inserted, which letters spell the name of the proprietor and the blank spaces his first name from his surname, and in a like manner, the number or rural route plate preferably consists of a pair of oppositely disposed metal guides, into each of which rectangularlyshaped metal strips, each bearing a number or a letter, may be inserted which numbers in the aggregate correspond to the house number in which the proprietor of the box lives or the number and letters corresponding to his rural route number. The name of the proprietor of the box and the house number in which he lives or his rural route number are therefore visible from each side of the box.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a fixture that may be easily applied to a mail box.

Another object of the invention is to provide in comblnation a fixture and a mail box, each of which is so constructed that the fixture may be, readily applied to the mail box and from which fixture a name plate or a name plate and a number or ruralroute plate may be suspended in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the mail box.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved fixture consisting of a vertically extending portion having spaced means associated therewith for attaching it to a mail box and in which the vertical portion extends above the mail box to provide a support for a horizontal strip which extends in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the mail box and is held at a sufficient distance above the box to permit a name plate and preferably a name plate and a number or rural route plate to be suspended therefrom above the mail box.

A still further object of my invention consists of the combination of a fixture and a mail box in which the It is dif-' mail box is provided with a peripheral rim around its rear end and in which the fixture has a vertical portion extending upwardly along the rear end of the box sub.- stantially midway between its sides that has spaced clamps thereon which may be readily secured to the rim of the mail box without tools and in which the vertical portion extends upwardly a substantial distance above the box to form a support for a strip which extends substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the mail box and has suspended therefrom a name plate or a name plate and a number or rural route plate, each of which is preferably constructed in such a manner that the name of the proprietor and the number of the house in which he lives or his rural route number are visible from each side of the box.

My invention will be better understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a sideelevational view of a mail box having my improved fixture applied thereto;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged end elevational view of the fixture applied to the mail box with part of the fixture and part of the box being shown broken away;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail view of a clamp for application to a rim on the upper portion of the rear end of the mail box;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail view of a clamp for application to the lower rim on the rear end of the 'mail box; and

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken on a plane passing through the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

As shown in the attached drawings, my invention box and while any suitable-means may be provided for this purpose, such as a stationary part which engages one portion and a movable part which engages another portion of the mail box, as shown in the drawings, a bracket 8 is secured to the vertical rod at a spaced distance from its bottom end and a second bracket 9 is provided having parallel flanges '10 and 11 which are slidable upon rod 6 and to which is welded or otherwise secured a vertically extending strip '12 which terminates in a substantially U-shaped flange 13. The lower portion of rod 6 is threaded 'and bracket9 is maintained upon rod 6 by washer 14 and a nut 15 which is threaded on the lower portion of the rod.

The bracket 8 is welded or otherwise secured to rod 6 and consists of a triangularly-shap ed plate having a recess in its upper central portion upon the opposite sides of which are arranged inverted U-shaped flanges 17 and 18 which fi-t over the rim 2 at the upper portion of the box. As shown in FIG. 2, rod 6 is arranged midway between the sides of the mail box and each of the flanges 17 and 18 are applied to the rib 2 at the curved upper portion at the rear end of the mail box, and the U-shaped flange 13 is arranged below the rim at the center of the end portion and nut 15 is threaded upwardly to hold washer 14 firmly in engagement with the bottom flange 11 of bracket 9 and flange 13 in firm engagement with the rim on the bottom of the rear end of the mail box.

To provide a support for the name plate or the name plate and the number plate, rod 6 extends upwardly a suificient distance above the top of the box to support plate 19, or a name plate and a number plate or rural route plate may be suspended therefrom above the mail box. For this purpose, the upper end of rod 6 is threaded to receive a nut 21 and the longitudinally extending strip has a flat portion 22 arranged adjacent the rear end of the box which is provided with an opening to receive the upper portion of rod 6 and to maintain the strip 7 in a rigid position, a nut 23 is threaded on rod 6 above the flat portion 22 of strip 7. The strip 7 is also provided with a curved portion 24 which overlies and partly protects nut 23 and to provide a symmetrical design, the opposite end portion of the strip is flat as indicated by the numeral 22a and terminates in a curved portion 24a and adjacent the flat portions 22 and 22a strip 7 is bent to provide a vertically extending portion which has spaced apertures 25 and 26 therein.

As previously stated, strip 7 extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the mail box and is arranged at a sutficient distance above the mail box to permit the name plate 19 or the name plate 19 and the number plate 20 to be suspended between the strip 7 and the mail box. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the name plate includes a horizontally extending strip 27 to the opposite sides of which guideways 28 and 29 may be welded or otherwise secured, each of which has a U-shaped flange at its lower portion and an inverted U-shaped flange at its upper portion to receive rectangularly-shaped strips, most of which bears a letter thereon but one or more of which is in the form of blanks and which strips in the aggregate, spell the name of the proprietor of the box and space his Christian name from his surname and his middle initial, if any, from his Christian and surnames. Strip 27 may be suspended from strip 7 in any convenient manner. As shown strip 27 has spaced apertures 30 and 31 therein which are arranged in vertical alignment with apertures 25 and 26, respectively, in strip 7, and links 32 and 33 are provided, link 32 having a hooked portion which extends through aperture 25 in strip 7 and a second hooked portion which extends through aperture 30 in strip 27 and in a like manner, link 33 has a hooked portion which extends through the aperture 26 in strip 7 and a second hook portion which extends through aperture 31 in strip 27. The free end portions of each of the links are originally spaced at a suflicient distance from its central portion to enable the name plate to be easily applied to the horizontally extending strip without tools. The end portions of each link may then be forced by hand or by a simple tool, such as a pair of pliers, toward its central portion. To remove the plate 19, the ends of the links may be moved outwardly from their central portion either by hand or by a simple tool a suflicient distance from their central portions to enable the name plate 19 to be removed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 of the drawings, a house number plate or a plate for receiving the letters and number of the rural route on which the box is located may also be provided which may be secured to the lower U-shaped flanges of guideways 28 and 29 in any desirable manner, such as by welding. The house number plate or rural route number plate also consists of oppositely disposed guideways 34 and 35 having lower U-shaped and upper inverted U-shaped flanges which form guides for the number of the house in which the proprietor resides or his rural route number. The house numbers or letters and numbers of the rural route may be formed in any suitable manner, each upon a rectangularly-shaped strip, which strips are inserted in alignment with each other within the guideways 34 and 35 in such a manner that the aggregate of the numerals in each guideway designates the house number of the proprietor of the box or if the plate 20 is used to designate the rural route number, the letters R. R. or R. R. D., together with the number of the route may be inserted in the guideways 34 and 35 of plate 20.

What is claimed is:

1. A fixture for application to a mail box in which the top, sides, and lower portion of the rear end of the box are united to the box in the form of a bead, a rod having its lower portion arranged below the box and extending vertically upwardly along the rear end of the box in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the box and having a portion extending above the top of the box, the upper end of which is threaded and is provided with an abutment below its upper end, a bracket having its central portion secured to the inner portion of said rod, said bracket having portions arranged on the opposite sides of the rods, each of which has a flange which extends over the bead on the upper portion of the box, a bracket slidable on the lower portion of said rod and having an outwardly extending arm having an aperture therein for receiving the lower portion of the rod and an inwardly extending flange secured to the lower bracket for engaging the bead on the lower portion of the box, fastening means adjustably mounted on the lower portion of the rod for forcing the inwardly extending flange on the lower bracket into engagement with the lower bead on the box when the flanges on the upper bracket engage the upper portion of the mail box, a strip having a fiat portion with an aperture therein for receiving the upper portion of said rod which strip rests on said abutment, means for securing the strip to the rod and said strip having a vertically extending portion having a pair of spaced apertures therein, a name plate having apertures therein, each of which is arranged in alignment with an aperture in said strip, and means extending through the aligned apertures in said name plate and said strip for releasably securing the name plate to the strip.

2. A fixture for application to a mail box in which the top, sides and lower portions of the rear end of the box are united with the box in the form of a bead, a rod having its lower portion arranged below said box and extending upwardly along the rear end of the box substantially in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the box and extending a substantial distance above the top of the box, the upper end of which rod terminates in a threaded portion, an abutment arranged on the upper portion of said rod in spaced relation to its upper end, a bracket having its central portions secured to the inner side and having portions arranged on the opposite sides of said rOd, each of which has a hooked-shaped flange which extends over the bead on the upper portion of the box, a bracket slidable on the lower end portion of said rod, said bracket consisting of a first plate having upper and lower outwardly extending arms with aligned apertures therein to receive the lower end portion of the rod and a second flat plate secured to the first plate and having an inwardly extending hooked-shaped flange for engaging the bead on the lower rear end of the box, means for forcing the lower bracket upwardly on said rod when the hooked-shaped flanges on the upper bracket engage the bead on the upper end portion of said box to force the hooked-shaped flange on the lower bracket into engagement with the lower bead of said box, a flat strip having an aperture therein for receiving the upper end of said rod which strip rests on said abutment, means for securing said strip to the rod and said strip having a vertically extending portion having apertures therein, a name plate having apertures therein, each of which is arranged in alignment with an aperture in said strip, and means extending through aligned apertures in said name plate and said strip for releasably securing the name plate to the strip.

3. A fixture as defined in claim 2 including a second plate arranged between the name plate and the mail box and in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the mail box, means for securing the second plate to the name plate, and said second plate having a guideway for receiving rectangularly-shaped strips, each having a number thereon which in the aggregate designates the proprietors house number or some of which may each have 2,573,413 1951 Duncan -140 X a letter thereon and one or more may each have a number 2 7 141 1952 Peters 2:222:36? [1 51: 536 1 313 31 2 3 1 mflbgi' gn iv hi h 1 2615267 10/1952 Brown 4O 128 bgjciglocatedf 5 2,680,588 6/1954 Wright 40-129 X 4. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which the means 2,913,840 11/1959 JOSelOiT X for fastening said strip in place on the rod is a nut 2,983,438 5/1961 Brockman 248-43 X threadedly mounted on said rod and in which the strip 3 079 714 3/1963 zeigler et a1 0' X has an inwardly curved portion extending over and protesting Sal-d nut. I I0 3,154,870 11/1964 Hopp et a1. 40l40 X References Cited by the Ex er EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENTS LAWRENCE CHARLES, Examiner.

1,817,718 8/1931 Swaniund 40-1 9 SHELDON M. BENDER, Assistant Examiner.

2,534,163 12/1950 Enghauser 40 X 15 

1. A FIXTURE FOR APPLICATION TO A SNAIL BOX IN WHICH THE TOP, SIDES, AND LOWER PORTION OF THE REAR END OF THE BOX ARE UNITED TO THE BOX IN THE FRONT OF THE BEAD, A ROD HAVING ITS LOWER PORTION ARRANGED BELOW THE BOX AND EXTENDING VERTICALLY UPWARDLY ALONG THE REAR END OF THE BOX IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE BOX AND HAVING A PORTION EXTENDING ABOVE THE TOP OF THE BOX, THE UPPER END OF WHICH IS THREADED AND IS PROVIDED WITH AN ABUTMENT BELOW ITS UPPER END, A BRACKET HAVING ITS CENTRAL PORTION SECURED TO THE INNER PORTION OF SAID ROD, SAID BRACKET HAVING PORTIONS ARRANGED ON THE OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE RODS, EACH OF WHICH HAS A FLANGE WHICH EXTENDS OVER THE BEAD ON THE UPPER PORTION OF THE BOX, A BRACKET SLIDABLE ON THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID ROD AND HAVING AN OUTWARDLY EXTENDING ARM HAVING AN APERTURE THEREIN FOR RECEIVING THE LOWER PORTION OF THE ROD AND AN INWARDLY EXTENDING FLANGE SECURED TO THE LOWER OF THE BOX FOR ENGAGING THE BEAD ON THE LOWER PORTION OF THE BOX, FASTENING MEANS ADJUSTABLE MOUNTED ON THE LOWER PORTION OF THE ROD FOR FORCING THE INWARDLY EXTENDING FLANGE ON THE LOWER BRACKET INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE LOWER BEAD ON THE BOX WHEN THE FLANGES ON THE UPPER BRACKET ENGAGE THE UPPER PORTION OF THE MAIL BOX, A STRIP HAVING A FLAT PORTION WITH AN APERTURE THEREIN FOR REDEIVING THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID ROD WHICH STRIP RESTS ON SAID ABUTMENT, MEANS FOR SECURING THE STRIP TO THE ROD AND SAID STRIP HAVING A VERTICALLY EXTENDING PORTION HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED APERTURES THEREIN, A NAME PLATE HAVING APERTURES THEREIN, EACH OF WHICH IS ARRANGED IN ALIGNMENT WITH AN APERTURE IN SAID STRIP, AND MEANS EXTENDING THROUGH THE ALIGNED APERTURES IN SAID NAME PLATE AND SAID STRIP FOR RELEASABLY SECURING THE NAME PLATE TO THE STRIP. 